happy thoughts

My sister will be here Wednesday, weather permitting...There has been storms after storms, blizzard after blizzard these passed few weeks and it has become quite annoying, and as much as I like snow, I am sick of it.

I am also excited about my move to Nome in May. I am making my preparations for my move, and figuring out the best routes and directions to take. I am still on the fence about selling my car. My mother says it would be best if I kept it just in case I need to move back home before I expect to, but I don't want to think that way, since I am signing a 2 year contract to stay here. I could sell it and use the money to pay her back what I owe her, and still have plenty left over to buy a 'new' car when I get back up to Nome.

Option 2: I could pack up my car, drive to Seattle, have my car shipped up here with all my things at a flat rate and have my car. That would be great, but really to live up here you need to have a vehicle that has 4 wheel drive, and my Honda sedan isn't that. Not to mention, I really would not be interested in driving across the country. That would shave off 4-5 days from my vacation and move-prep time.

There is so much to do! My head is swimming! BUT- I am so happy! I will have a job with good benefits, get my student loans paid off, go to school for my RN online, experience more of Alaska that I haven't had a chance to do yet, get awesome training FOR FREE that I wouldn't get in the Lower 48, build up my resume, and become a member of the community. Not to mention spend time with my friends and 'family' here in Nome and my awesome boyfriend Brian I wish you could all meet.

If you are feeling blue that I am leaving the Lower 48 for AK, DON'T! I will still be able to make trips home to see everyone, and at least this time, I will be getting paid vacation to do so.

More ponderings soon.... Gotta get back to work :)

It's that time again.

I get to start looking for a new assignment to travel to. So far, Tacoma, WA has a spot available at their VA. maybe I can slide right up there since I am already in the federal system.



I have been packing unnecessary clothing and such, doing laundry, cleaning a bit. Oh the joys. I have realized that since I have been here from October I have collected quite a few more items to my arsenal of belongings. More clothes, knick-knacks, keepsakes, photos, blah blah blah...



I am calmly overwhelmed right now, knowing I have 4 weeks to pull it all together. If I don't get a new assignment before I work my last shift here, I have 2 options: pack up and drive home to Memphis, or stay here in Palo Alto until I get a new assignment. I am still undecided since I have quite a bit of that taste of disdain for this area, even though staying can help me save more money for wherever I plan to go next. I just don;t feel like getting an assignment the day after I get back from CA to TN, and then have to drive another hideously long distance to the next job.



I shouldn't whine, I have it pretty good. I don't pay rent or utilities, which helps me out a huge deal since I have lots of debts to pay off; ie: Mom and student loans, blech. The few things that really suck about travel nursing are these:

1)You never really know for sure what you're getting in to. You don't know if the floor you got hired to work on will be a complete mess, or the nurses will be mean, etc. If it sucks, you're stuck there for at least 13 weeks. So far I have been lucky with awesome nurse managers and really friendly coworkers. Of course, there are the occasional bad apples, but that's anywhere at any job.

2)Getting to have to make a fresh start. Social life is all up to you. If you want to make friends, you literally have to go out and get them. And as I have become more seasoned at this line of work, I have realized that the first 3 people you meet that you would normally make the initiative to exchange phone numbers and hang out with usually turn out to be the people you really don't want to hang out with. I was lucky when I came here that I had my friend Corissa that I worked with in Nome here. She was a great help to have around, and it was nice to know I already had a friend.

3)Having to learn how to navigate in a totally alien area to you. Yeah, sucks. I was lucky in Nome since the town was so small and I didn''t have a car that I walked everywhere, and that everything was pretty much within a 5-10 minute walk from everything. Here in CA, it's so damn big, it had been a real effort to learn where things were. The first places to look for for me are the Safeway, Long's and Target. Sad I know, but when you need the basics, it's good to know where they are. Next town I go to I am going to have all the necessary locales mapped out before I get there. hooray fro Google Maps.

4)Looking for a new assignment when there is a time crunch is a pain in the ass. As much as I love my recruiter, it's really hard to get a hold of here when I need her the most, so frequent freak-outs are normal. I have 4 more weeks here, and I want to get out at that time if I can.

5)The packing up the car and moving thing is a large pain in the ass and I am so not looking forward to squeezing all I have here in my car and then cleaning up the apartment before my next embarkation. Knowing how much I have accumulated since I have been here is frustrating, since I now have a beaming feeling that I will have to get a roof rack for my car for the added crap to my crap arsenal. This in turn will slow down my trip and no doubt eat up gas mileage. yay.

6)Dating? What's that? I had my try at it since I have been here and the trials of it were quite disappointing. This has definitely not been the place for me to make a love connection. No big deal really, next town please....



It's not that bad, I swear. Maybe next after I get to my new destination I can post an entry about all the rad stuff that happens with my job.



Cross your fingers for me kids. Momma wants a cool new job :)

news to come?

Sorry I have been out of the loop lately. Have had some interesting things to report, but no time to type.
I will be working all day tomorrow here at the blind center, so hopefully I will have the time to update what they hey has been going on.
TTFN.

***WANTED!!!***

Person to accompany me and assist with the consumption of my meals that I keep preparing!

I have too much food in my fridge! Over the last week and a half, I have made several home made dishes where leftovers were abound and also too much.

Why do I keep cooking for a family of 4 when I live by myself?

I have enough falafel portions to last me and a small family of 4 for a month, cucumber salad out the kazoo, as well as a litany of frozen meat in the freezer. I am scared to death that I am going to have to throw some of this food away, since I will be leaving Palo Alto in 7 weeks, headed to wherever I can get an assignment.

I am pretty bummed considering all the positions available for LVN's are in skilled nursing facilities. (nursing homes) I haven't worked in SNF since I was in nursing school 8 years ago, and I don't plan on going back no matter how much I get paid. I am crossing my fingers and praying for the right job to fall in my lap. (as well as the right new doggie!)

I learned to cook in Alaska when I was there all last year. I did a pretty good job teaching myself. The advantage there was that everyone ate what you had to offer, and there was always someone to feed. Amazing that in a town of 4,000, you could always find someone to come to dinner. Here in Northern California, where the SF Bay area houses over 4 million people, the hardest task is to get someone to come over to say hi. Sad, huh?

I shall not dwell! I am going to be positive! I have alot of good things going on! I can list them now, but it's 4, and I am going to go home!

Have a swell day, and I will report any new news! God bless!

today...

I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I had hoped it would be.

I am probably going to be staying here in Palo Alto til the end of June. Hopefully, and I am praying, and crossing my fingers, I will get a job in San Diego or someplace of similar beachy awesomeness.

My other demand is that I find a job where I can work 12 hour shifts. I was never meant to work five eight hour shifts a week. It's killing me, and making me fat. (also getting fat since I quit smoking)

I promised my recruiter that I would sign up for some type of out-of-house activity by the end of the week, and I cannot or the life of me think of what I would like to pick up. Any suggestions people? I need to get my butt in gear and back to the gym. 24 Hour Fitness still gets monthly payments from me and I think I need to start taking advantage of the fact that they are taking my money.....

On another note, my friend Corissa, whom I worked with in Alaska, and also here in Palo Alto, is leaving back to hr home state of Pennsylvania tomorrow. I will miss her dearly, and I will now have to get along without a familiar face again. But I guess that's one of the breaks I have to take in this business.

I still believe in my heart that there is some mysterious entity of wonderfulness out here waiting for me while I am away from my true home. I hope that I get to find it; whatever it is, and wherever it may be.

Paris, Je t'aime......

I just saw the movie of the same title, which was a box office hit in France apparently.
Anyways, it was so wonderful, I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to see how people love in another country. Some things are surprisingly different, and equally the same.

Now I have a wild hair up me bum.

I want to go to Paris now! I have always wanted to visit, but after seeing this movie, I have been very motivated to do something about it!

But for now, I am going to watch a movie, and do my trip planning tonight while I am at work for the midnight shift. I am sure I will be posting more about this sometime soon.

Until then, BON SOIR!

Staying in California

I got hired to work in Blind Rehab for the 13 weeks following this week.

I am not exactly sure I will like the job, but it keeps me from driving to a new city, I get to stay and explore more things and places, and I won't lose any money because I am starting my new assignment right away.

A few cons:
-I won't be home for Xmas (this is hurting my family more than me)
-I have to get all my stuff together and move to an apartment (but a pro to that is that I actually will GET a real apartment)
-This area is ridiculously expensive
-I have to put Chloe in the car AGAIN to move to the new apartment (for anyone who has travelled via automobile with felines, you know this is no treat)
-I have to buy cooking equipment, ie: pots and pans and spatulas and dinnerware and silverware
-I have to buy linens for my bed

Oh well, I can manage I think.

Some of the pros:
-I will be working some nights, holidays, and weekends, so I will be getting more money and probably better paychecks
-After the new year I will be able t5o work 12 hour shifts, so that means more time off
-my family will have a better place to visit me when they come in March


That's just a few things I could think of at the moment.

I am still a little sad that AZ didn't work out. I really like the desert, and would have had fun visiting more of my friends in the area. Maybe next time.

For now, I just happy to be blessed with a job, and able to stay where I am at.